Singers helping to ‘Restore the Moor.’
Raising voices to restore the moor
A local folk trio will be raising their voices to raise money to help restore Saddleworth Moor following the disastrous fires this summer.
Karen Dyson, Aly Rainey and Shelley Rainey, who sing together as The Bailey Sisters, are holding a concert at St Chad’s Church in Uppermill to raise money for the RSPB. The charity manages the land around the Dovestones reservoir, and has already carried out extensive conservation work in the area, with the help of local volunteers.
Karen Dyson, who sings with the Bailey Sisters said, ‘I live in Oldham, and my house is Bailey Sisters’ HQ, where we meet to plan and rehearse our programmes. I could see the plume of smoke on the moor from my garden. I was devastated to learn how much damage it had done, especially to the birds and wildlife that depend on the land. We immediately wanted to do something to help and were delighted when St Chad’s agreed to host us for a fundraising concert.’
St Chad’s suffered during the fires too, as there was extensive damage to the churchyard. Members of the church will be running a bar and providing refreshments, and donations from this will help restore the churchyard.
Aly said, ‘we’ve been RSPB members for years now, and we all enjoy visiting nature reserves and getting up close to wildlife. Where I live, we have red kites flying over the house every day, so I’ve seen first-hand what successful conservation work can achieve.’
The trio is well-known in the North West, and sings regularly at folk clubs and festivals. They launched their third studio album at a concert at the Bridgewater Hall last December. Shelley said, ‘our music has fiddle, guitar, shruti and percussion, but we’re probably best known for our unaccompanied close harmony singing. We’re really looking forward to singing in St Chad’s, as it has a beautiful acoustic that suits our music.’
The concert will feature traditional and modern songs, bird poems, a raffle supported by local businesses and a game of Birdy Bingo.
The concert will be on Saturday 29th September, 2018 at St Chad’s Church, Uppermill, OL3 6LW.
Doors at 7.00 p.m. for a 7.30 p.m. start.
Tickets £7.50 + booking fee in advance from www.wegottickets.com/event/446663 or £10.00 on the door.
Oh, and by the way …… they’re not sisters, and they don’t drink Baileys!
Author: Jude Gidney - Editor
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